MLB Player News
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Shea Langeliers C | ATH
Athletics' Shea Langeliers: Should get late-season promotion
Athletics general manager David Forst said Monday that he expects Langeliers to receive a promotion from Triple-A Las Vegas before the end of the season, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Since Oakland will already have to add Langeliers to its 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, the organization appears motivated to at least give him a late-season look in the majors to see if he's ready to take over the No. 1 catcher's role from Sean Murphy, who could be traded this winter as he heads into his first year of arbitration. At least at the plate, Langeliers looks deserving of a stiffer test, as he's slashing .281/.362/.513 with 38 extra-base hits and five stolen bases while maintaining a 22.3 percent strikeout rate across 381 plate appearances for Las Vegas. Langeliers has also drawn favorable reviews for his work defensively, which should help his case for playing regularly even if he gets off to a slow start with the bat to begin his big-league career. Forst didn't specify when Langeliers' call-up might come, but the 24-year-old at least makes for an appealing pickup for fantasy managers in deeper leagues who can afford a luxury stash.
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Ryan Jeffers C | MIN
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Ditches cast
Jeffers had the cast removed on his surgically repaired right thumb Aug. 1 and is now sporting a removable splint, MLB.com reports.
At the time he underwent surgery July 20 to repair an avulsion fracture of the thumb, Jeffers was projected to miss 6-to-8 weeks. Assuming that timeline still holds, Jeffers won't be a realistic option to rejoin the Twins until the early part of September at the soonest. Minnesota will get by with Gary Sanchez as its everyday catcher in the meantime.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Guardians' Luke Maile: Blasts first home run of 2022
Maile went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk during Sunday's 1-0 win over the Astros.
The Guardians were unable to generate much offensive production during Sunday's matchup, but Maile plated the team's only run with his solo blast in the bottom of the fifth inning. The 31-year-old's playing time has remained sporadic recently, but he's gone 5-for-9 with a homer, a double, four RBI and a run over his last three games.
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Yasmani Grandal C | PIT
White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Resting Sunday
Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.
Grandal will take a seat for the series finale after he started in each of the White Sox's last three games, two at catcher and one as a designated hitter. Seby Zavala will get the nod behind the plate Sunday while Jose Abreu handles DH duties.
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Kevin Plawecki C | TEX
Red Sox's Kevin Plawecki: Sits in favor of McGuire
Plawecki is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Plawecki and Reese McGuire will alternate turns behind the dish for the sixth consecutive game, with both backstops earning three starts apiece during that span. Expect manager Alex Cora to continue deploying a timeshare at catcher until one separates himself from the other from a performance standpoint.
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Austin Hedges C | CLE
Guardians' Austin Hedges: Sitting out Sunday
Hedges is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Hedges will rest for the day game after he went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored while catching all nine innings of Saturday's 4-1 win. Luke Maile gets the nod behind the dish in Sunday's series finale.
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Christian Vazquez C | HOU
Astros' Christian Vazquez: Gets Sunday off
Vazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Vazquez will take a seat for the day game after a night game, allowing Martin Maldonado to receive a turn behind the dish. Through his first three games for Houston since being acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, Vazquez has gone 1-for-8 at the plate.
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Adley Rutschman C | BAL
Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Reaches four times in win
Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a run and two walks in Saturday's victory over the Pirates.
Rutschman reached base four times for the second time in five games, and after getting on a total of 15 times over that span, his OPS on the season is now up to .809. Rutschman has regularly hit second of late, and with Trey Mancini no longer on the roster, it's likely that arrangement will continue.